Strong Second Half Surges Men's Lacrosse Past Dean, 15-11, Saturday Afternoon

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team utilized a stellar second half to comeback and defeat Dean College (Dean), 15-11, Saturday afternoon during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) South Division play on the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn. The Blue Jays, who trailed 9-5 at the half, outscored the Bulldogs 10-2 in the second half to pick up the victory. With the result the Blue Jays move to 8-2 overall on the year and remain a perfect 4-0 in GNAC play and 1-0 in the GNAC South Division while the Bulldogs drop to 6-3 on the year, 2-2 in GNAC play and 1-1 in the South Division.

KEY MOMENTS 

• Dean and USJ traded goals to open the first quarter, as strikes from junior midfielder Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) and sophomore midfielder Nick Pestrichello (Newington, Conn.), saw the score be deadlocked at 2-2 at the 2:48 mark.
• The Bulldogs fired back, scoring two unanswered to close out the first quarter, establishing a 4-2 lead.
• Dean increased the advantage to three, before freshman midfielder Brendan Tedeschi (Orange, Vt.) put a stop to the Bulldogs scoring run, finding the back of the net with 9:32 on the clock and closing the deficit to 5-3.
• USJ and Dean then continued to trade blows, as junior midfielder Luke von Borstel (Massena, N.Y.) and freshman attack Matthew Wurszt (Wilbraham, Mass.) cancelled out two Bulldog goals, seeing the scoreline move to a 7-5 Dean lead with 3:02 left in the half.
• The visitors again closed out the second quarter on a two-goal run, taking a 9-5 edge into the locker room.
• Dean increased the lead to five, 10-5, to begin the third quarter, but the momentum swung completely, as USJ began to dominate the game.
• Senior attack Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.) began the offensive onslaught, scoring his first goal of the game at the 11:15 mark, closing the gap to 10-6.
• Senior attack Ryan Paltauf (Southbury, Conn.) and Wurszt then found the back of the net within 41 seconds of each other, as the BLue Jays chipped the Dean lead down to two, 10-8, with 8:11 on the clock.
• Baden then took full advanteg of a man-up oppertunity, netting his second goal of the game at the 3:47 mark, before senior midfielder Sam Barbetti (Guilford, Conn.) tied the game at 10-10, scoring a solo goal at the 2:41 mark.
• USJ continued to keep its foot on the gas, taking the lead for the first time in the game with a Pestrichello man-up goal, sending the Blue Jays into the fourth quarter with an 11-10 edge.
• Pestrichello rounded out his hattrick to open the fourth, scoring with 13:49 on the clock and increasing the gap to 12-10.
• Dean finally put an end to the Blue Jays scoring run, but junior attack Evan Zimnoch (Southington, Conn.) dashed all hopes of a comeback, scoring a highlight reel diving goal at the 8:52 mark, increasing the lead to 13-11.
• von Borstel and Zimnoch would put the game to rest, scoring back-to-back goals to hold off Dean and secure a 15-11 comeback victory for USJ.

NOTES 

• Paltauf paced the team with five points off four assists and one goal.
• Pestrichello recorded a hattrick on the day.
• Barbetti hauled in a team-best nine ground balls.
• Ten different Blue Jays caused a turnover.
• Barbetti went 10-of-17 at the faceoff "X", while von Borstel posted a 7-of-12 mark.
• Senior goalkeeper Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) played all 60 minutes in the cage for USJ, picking up the win (7-2) after tallying 11 saves.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays continue GNAC South Division play at Johnson & Wales University on Wednesday, April 3. Opening faceoff against the Wildcats from the Scotts-Miracle Gro Athletic Complex in Providence, R.I., is set for 4:00 p.m.

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